A portrait series of the modern American Cowboy/girl

Some excerpts from the series by Jay B. Sauceda: BILL PRYOR – Bill runs a ranch in between Alpine and Marfa. He’s a friendly guy with what may be the raspiest voice I have ever heard. BROOKSIE – Brooksie spent 27 years working the coal mines of Utah until settling down on an 80 acre …

The Knife Maker – maturing a skill into an art

In our second film, we meet writer turned knife maker Joel Bukiewicz of Cut Brooklyn. He talks about the human element of craft, and the potential for a skill to mature into an art. And in sharing his story, he alights on the real meaning of handmade—a movement whose riches are measured in people, not …

One million robots in three years – Foxconn’s Robot Kingdom

The largest private employer in China, Foxconn with over 1 million employees, is finally facing stiff labor costs. This is great news for the U.S. manufacturing sector who may be able to lure some work back to the United States. It will be interesting to see how this affects the global market, but for now …

In 2012, broadband will be in 678 million homes

We are truly in the age of the internet, or rather the Dawn of the Internet Age, as the number of internet connected homes approaches a billion. The stats on broadband and wi-fi in homes: According to a new report from Strategy Analytics, 25 percent of all “households” worldwide now have Wi-Fi networks set up. In …

FDA ruling – cigarette makers must be transparent about chemical additives

A ruling by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires tobacco companies to be transparent about the chemicals in their products. This hasn’t yet happened, despite all the warnings and labels on cigarettes, and it’s no wonder considering: “Over 7,000 chemicals and chemical compounds are present in tobacco and the smoke that emanates from tobacco. …

Canadian penny is going away – cost 1.6 cents to produce

In April 2012, the Canadian government will begin phasing out the Canadian penny. It was left out of the latest budget because it just didn’t make financial sense to keep it going. “The penny is a currency without any currency” The Canadian penny now costs Canada 1.6 cents to produce. The government says it loses …

Surfing the mouth of Newport Harbor, 1938

Here is some rare footage from 1938 of a few big swells coming into Newport Harbor (Newport Beach, CA). The long jetties at the mouth of the harbor providing smooth seas haven’t been built yet, and the waves are looking really good! The area was known as the “Waikiki of the west coast”. The Balboa …

The rise of e-reading in America

28% of Americans age 18 and older own at least one specialized device for e-book reading – either a tablet or an e-book reader. The holiday season saw a huge boost in ownership for both e-readers and tablets. Both jumped 9%, meaning that nearly one in ten Americans received a device over the holidays. The …

Advanced computers push science forward through millions of hours of processing power

Harnessing the power of supercomputers and their million hours of processing power has allowed some very intriguing physics calculations to take place. One of them is the study of matter in the universe on a subatomic level. The question, how did we arrive at a universe composed almost exclusively of matter with virtually no antimatter? …